19-2-8

Epilogue: The person living in this thing had removed the wheels and put it up on blocks so that it couldn't be towed. Two days later, not sure how, but it's gone. People have been living all over Vancouver in motor homes for years now. 

William Gibson described an ad hoc community built in the fringes of the Golden Gate bridge in his novel Virtual Light. In some ways he was ahead of his time, though I guess when you're writing books about a possible future your goal is to be ahead of your time. On bridges, under bridges, in the gaps; there's going to come a time when that community is too big to "move along."

This camper van is/was someone's home. A home is a precious thing. Average income in Vancouver is $56k/year before taxes. Minimal deductions puts you at $42k net. The average one bedroom in Vancouver is $2150/month. Add in modest utilities and a cell phone and internet and you're looking at about $30k/year. That leaves you $1000/month to eat, entertain, save, pay off your student debt that allows you to make $56k a year in the first place rather than a minimum wage living.

Truth be told, you can find 1 bedroom apartments for less than the average, if you're lucky. But $56k a year is about $27/hour, which I know a lot of people in Vancouver don't make.

Vancouver often ranks in the top 3 or 5 or so when ranking cities by "liveability"; whatever that means. I'm pretty sure the people doing the rankings don't live here. Pretty sure the guy that lived in that motorhome doesn't agree with the ranking either, though technically he doesn't live here anymore.